Silas felt an overwhelming sense of pride. What would have taken him several days before, he had now accomplished in just a few hours. That could only mean that he was finally beginning to master his power, and it would only be a matter of time before he could transform himself into anything he wanted with his will alone.
Of course, he had already seen dogs roaming around the castle, and had been thinking for some time about becoming one. If he hadn't done it before it was because they were used for other jobs, like hunting or guarding flocks of sheep. But now that he was traveling with Olivia, he could pretend to be her pet, although the idea didn't really appeal to him.
He left behind a rocky area among the hills, where he had been practicing his transformation for most of the morning, and set out to look for the girl. It was not easy due to the number of people that had begun to crowd the narrow streets of the village, although, after several days of travel, added to the time they had been locked inside the tree, he had become accustomed to her fragrant scent, and, after a while, he managed to follow her trail.
He had thought he would find her wandering around, observing the place and the locals. So he was surprised when he discovered that she was inside one of the huts. They had agreed that she wouldn't talk to anyone, and would wait for the sirenians to arrive, but, apparently, Olivia had been confined to the castle for so long that she couldn't shake the urge to meet new people.
After dodging a man who almost fell on him, Silas entered the hut, and very naturally sat down next to Olivia. In front of him was an old man who looked at him with curiosity and amazement. No wonder, he had chosen a magnificent black color, shiny as the wings of a raven, deep as a night without stars, as beautiful as Olivia's hair...
Wait, where did that thought come from? He watched Olivia for a few seconds, but felt a shiver at the sight of her, as now she looked so much like her mother, and the elf only made his blood run cold.
“Ah, yes, it's mine. His name is... Shadow.”
Olivia's words pulled him out of distraction.
“A most appropriate name,” the old man said.
Yes, it seemed that Olivia was becoming more skilled at choosing names, although that one would be temporary, as he liked Silas much better.
“And tell me, Acolyte Silas, is this your first time in our town?”
But why was he calling her by his name?
“Call me Dahlia, no need to be so formal”, responded Olivia.
Silas didn't understand anything. Human things, surely.
“Very well, Dahlia, if you call me Mantok.”
“Of course, Mantok, and, as for your question, yes, it's my first time here.”
“And how have you found it so far?”
“Well, beautiful, and the people very friendly.”
Silas agreed. From what little he had seen so far, it seemed to him that the Lake Tribe had a similar way of living to the chimeras, more in touch with nature, although his race had never founded villages, and moved from place to place. In contrast, the humans, for some strange reason, felt a pressing need to raise huge castles to enclose themselves inside them.
“I'm glad you think that way,” Mantok continued. “Not everyone who comes from the outside has the same opinion. For some we live like animals, although I don't take it as an offense,” he looked in Silas' direction, and winked at him, which made the dog wonder if the old man hadn't realized who he really was.
But he seemed to be an ordinary human, so there was no danger.
“Are you excited about the festival?” Mantok asked.
“Oh, yes,” exclaimed Olivia overjoyed. “I've wanted to come for years and finally got the chance.”
“I imagine your training must have taken you a long time. Where did you train?”
“Ah, well, in the capital.”
“Is that so? I understand that only the best wizards are accepted there.”
It would be pretty strange for a dog to laugh, so Silas let out a simple snort that earned him a quick, indignant look from Olivia.
“No big deal...”, she said. “And, tell me, Mantok, are there any sirenians in your family?”
The man burst out laughing.
“You have no idea! Well, first off, I've been bound to a sirenian for more than forty years. Her name is Thalassa. You may have heard.”
“That's a long time!”
Mantok laughed again.
For Silas the concept of union or marriage, as the humans called it, was alien. Chimeras didn't bond that way. It was common for members of different packs to stay together for a while until they had children, which was the only goal of both parts. Once that was achieved, each would go their separate ways. The offspring were then raised by the mother and the rest of the members of her own pack.
“I had twelve children with her,” Mantok continued. “Seven of them were born sirenians, and the other five humans like me. Most of them already have their own families. So far I have eighteen grandchildren and one on the way. You already met one of them, Zaagic. I also, of course, have several sirenian grandchildren. Of all my children, only the eldest joined a human who does not belong to the tribe, which is not very common here, although her daughter was also born sirenian.”
“And they all migrate north?" Olivia asked in amazement.”
“Everyone, from my wife to the youngest of my grandchildren.”
“I guess it can't be easy.”
“Well, I miss them all, I can't deny that, but I never feel alone. I have the rest of my children and grandchildren, as well as the rest of the tribe, and as head of the family I'm always busy solving all sorts of problems, even little quarrels.”
“It must be a beautiful family.”
“That's right... Life has been generous to me... What about your family?”
“Ah... I'm an only child. My mother passed away, and I only have my father.”
Silas seemed to sense a hint of sadness in Olivia's voice, and no doubt Mantok sensed it too because, after a thoughtful moment, he said:
“I understand... Well, no wizard lives in our village yet, but there is always a first time. I am the family matchmaker, and I would be happy to get a sirenian for you... although if the solitude of winter is not to your liking, there are lots of humans to spare. Anyway, this is a close-knit community. No one is ever alone, really.”
The girl looked at Mantok speechless at that unexpected proposal that had come out of nowhere.
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Olivia bound to someone from the Lake Tribe? Please, Olivia could do better. Much better too than that stupid prince Silas had heard so much about.
“You're a very pretty girl, you'll have no problem starting a family,” insisted that bold old man.
Silas would have liked to reply that her real face was no comparison to that hideous thing that the cheating elf had forced her to wear.
But what the hell was happening to him? That day he had achieved something that seemed impossible until then. Why did he still feel so frustrated?
“Ah, I thank you...,” Olivia had been blushing more and more, as the man created a future for her with a husband and family included. “But I must be on my way as soon as the festival is over.”
“I understand, it's that time of year for you,” he winked. “But since you have taken the trouble to come here, and you are curious about our ways of living, stay with us until the festival begins. Every year there is a performance of the legend of Terrarkana. Our brothers spend all winter rehearsing and creating the costumes. Now... how about lunch?”
Silas pricked up his ears. He was starving.
“But... What about your stomach?”
“Ah,” Mantok waved a hand as if dismissing Olivia's question. “The pain is gone. You've been a great help.”
“But I didn't do anything!” Olivia protested.
But no matter how much pain he had been in before Silas arrived, the old man jumped up, and gestured for Olivia to follow him.
He led the way through the crowded huts and the stream of people that increasingly filled the village. A hive of conversation, shouting and laughter surrounded them. It seemed as if the whole kingdom had gathered there. Fearing attention, Silas walked around clinging to Olivia's tunic, acting as a faithful pet. However, to his relief, he didn't notice any wizards nearby, and it seemed everyone was too focused on their own business to notice just an ordinary dog.
After several minutes, the three arrived at an area where several people belonging to the tribe were finishing assembling what appeared to be a wooden platform over the water. Mantok explained to Olivia that this was where the performance would take place, an annual tradition, just before the Return of the Sirenians.
“And how do you know they will arrive tonight?” Olivia asked.
Mantok pointed to one of the hills where a large bonfire was lit, which the night before they had mistaken for another of the many camps that had been set up around the village. It was a signal fire that four days before had been ignited indicating that the sirenians had passed through the Misty Dream Strait, which connected the Gulf of the Dancing Lights with the Free Sea. It was very likely that they would arrive that night.
“And... what if they don't arrive?”
Mantok laughed again at what seemed to be a bizarre question.
“Our calculations have never failed us. Although we also have messengers who travel the gulf coast following the route of the sirenians. Besides, they like to make an entrance, you'll see.”
Near the platform there was a group of people resting and eating around a small fire. Some giggling children were running around playing catch. Silas was overcome by the smell of fried egg, rye bread and smoked sausages.
“Nothing else on the menu, boys?” Mantok asked as he approached.
“Father!” a woman protested. “Zaagic told us you've been feeling sick since breakfast. You shouldn't eat any more now. Besides, the banquet...”
“Let me worry about that,” Mantok waved his hand, apparently a common gesture of his. “But if you don't want to feed me, then at least take care of my guests.”
The group welcomed Olivia, as the curious children studied the strangers, and approached Silas to stroke his fur. He didn't like the feeling of their small hands tickling behind his ears, but knew he had to put up with it. He had already learned his lesson about being patient with affectionate humans.
One of the children had the idea of picking up a stick and throwing it in the water, hoping Silas would run to fetch it. He didn't feel like getting wet, so he lay down on the floor. Olivia, seeing this, laughed, and told the children that he was probably hungry. That said, one of them ran off, and came back with a sausage which he placed right in front of Silas' mouth, who devoured it ferociously. The other kids did the same again, and he ended up swallowing at least four more of those delicious treats.
In the end, he had no choice but to play along in gratitude for the lunch, while Olivia chatted with the locals. Though it did him little good when he saw Mantok call a boy out of the crowd to introduce him to Olivia as one of his younger sons, very kind, determined and hard-working lad.
The newcomer didn't seem to dislike the idea at all, and in Silas' eyes, his relaxed manners seemed most presumptuous, as if he already thought he could win Olivia over with his dumbass face.
After a brief lunch, the group got back to work to continue preparations for the festival. Olivia volunteered to help by carrying boards and torches. Throughout the whole time, her smile never faded, as if working made her happy. Strange girl.
Later two women led her to a hut. Silas left the tiresome children, and went after her. In the middle of the hut, stood two people whose faces were being painted. One was a woman in a long blue dress with her long red hair loose, while the other was a man with a black beard and long black hair tied in a tail. This one was very tall, about six feet tall. One of the women laughingly remarked that he was the only one in the tribe capable of playing the character of Yorgad.
So, if that was Yorgad, the woman could be none other than the nymph Nemertyss.
In another hut they entered a while later, he also caught a glimpse of some blond-haired elves, other giants, though not as tall but stout, sirenians painted from head to toe, with scales and blue-green fins, humans with simple armor made of metal plates strapped to arms and legs, and, finally, hybrids of all types, with masks of bulls, lions and wolves, others with horse and goat feet, and still others with eagle wings woven into the back of their attire.
He saw neither the Blue Dragon nor any chimera, although he did see a group of women chattering on the deck of another hut, while they were giving the last stitches to some huge fabrics of various colors, where he guessed that several people were supposed to fit.
In the midst of all the arrangements, the sun was falling fast among the hills, and with the last beams of light more and more people were approaching the area of the shore where the stage was now illuminated with the torches.
Mantok had gone away for a while to return in a formal outfit, as did the rest of the other honorable chiefs of the tribe. Both men and women wore long white tunics with mantles of various colors hanging from their shoulders, as well as ceremonial headdresses of various designs, from which Silas concluded that they must represent the different families.
Accompanied by Mantok, Olivia and Silas went to sit in one of the places with the best view, which was on one of the decks of one of the nearest huts. Actually, the old man had wanted to invite her to sit with the rest of the chiefs and their families, but Olivia had resisted, saying that it was too much. Silas guessed that she had also said that because it was not in their best interest to draw attention to themselves, as an Acolyte who was treated in a special way by one of the chiefs would surely do.
Mantok, on the other hand, mistook Olivia's fear for exemplary humility, very rare among magicians. Before turning to take his place, he added that he would be sure to get her the best of husbands.
Olivia knew they couldn't talk in front of all the people, but she addressed Silas in a low voice anyway:
“You sure have been laughing at my suffering all this time, haven't you?”
If he could have answered her, he still wouldn't have told her the truth. He would have said yes, that he thought it was a most ridiculous situation, and that he had not stopped enjoying himself at her expense.
It won't be long now, Silas thought. Maybe after tonight he would never see her again, and he would stop feeling angry all the time.
Why did that very thought not bring him relief but an early nostalgia?
A large full moon had risen over the hills, and was reflected on the surface of the lake.
“An excellent sign for our brothers and sisters”, commented someone in the crowd.
Silas looked at the group of chiefs gathered near the stage. They seemed to be waiting for something. After a few minutes, a man appeared running, and the listen attentively. When the man finished speaking, one of the chiefs made a hand gesture, and together with the rest of them sat down.
At that signal, several men and women carrying drums began to gather near the stage. The immense audience, that until then had not let speak and shouted with impatience, immediately fell silent when they heard the first beats that resounded in the aire creating an expectation that was reflected in the astonished expressions of all those present. In a dark area, Silas spotted the actors who were about to go up to perform.
To the empty stage, the first and only one to arrive by a long ladder connecting the platform to the shore, was one of the chiefs. In this case, it was a skinny, bald-headed man, who, after a regaining air, let out of his mouth a powerful voice that rose with authority and echoed throughout the lakeshore.
“Welcome, sisters, brothers, friends, visitors, some old and some new, coming even from remote areas of our graceful kingdom. Welcome to this unique night, in which the threads of time and space intertwine to transport us to the same origins of our ancient history. For weeks, while we eagerly await the arrival of the generous spring, our sisters and brothers have been preparing to joyfully welcome, like every year, our dear loved ones. In the calm of this sacred place, just a short distance from where our lord and creator, the Blue Dragon, rests, we gather here, humans of all origins, classes and trades, united by the same feeling, to share together this story passed down from generation to generation, an adventure full of courage, magic, pain, tears, guilt, but also forgiveness, fellowship, and love. The eternal struggle between light and darkness.”
The man paused and a thunderous applause erupted from the audience, and it did not die down for several seconds until the drums were heard again. Beside him, Silas felt Olivia move anxiously, and tap her feet on the floor. He did not understand that enthusiasm, it was the same old story, which must have been told to her as many times as the elders of his pack had told it to him countless times.
He returned his attention back to the stage, as the man started speaking again, a signal followed by the actors to move, thus beginning the telling of the legend of Terrarkana.